1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-19228 discloses a connector with a housing made of synthetic resin. The housing has a retaining wall and press-in holes penetrate the retaining wall. The connector also includes tab-shaped terminals that are pressed into the press-in holes. Each tab-shaped terminal has opposite front and rear ends. A long narrow tab-shaped contact is formed at the front end and a press-in portion that is wider than the press-in hole is continuous with the rear end of the tab-shaped contact. The terminal is pressed into the press-in hole with the tab-shaped contact in the lead. The press-in portion then deforms and widens the inner wall of the press-in hole in a press-in process.
The deformation of the inner wall of the press-in hole creates a reaction force and produces a press-in resistance. The press-in hole has a constant width along its length in the above-described conventional connector. As a result, a constant press-in resistance continues to act from the start to the end of the press-in process. The press-in resistance could be decreased by decreasing a difference in width between the press-in hole and the press-in portion. However, such a redesign also would provide an unacceptable reduction in the force for retaining the tab-shaped terminal in the press-in hole. Therefore, it has been conventionally impossible to avoid the large press-in resistance from the start to the end of the press-in process.
The invention was developed in view of the above situation and an object thereof is to reduce press-in resistance without reducing a force for retaining a terminal.